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Robot Wars: Series 8/Whiteboard matches
During the filming of the Robot Wars: Series 8 Grand Final, a number of whiteboard matches were held to fill time, entertain the audience, and obtain extra footage for the series. After five robots were hand-picked by the producers, the teams were free to organise friendly matches against each other. Of the five battles held, only two contributed footage to the televised series: clips of both Gabriel vs Behemoth and Eruption vs Infernal Contraption were used in the introduction to some episodes. Competing robots Matches Eruption vs Infernal Contraption In the opening moments, Eruption got underneath Infernal Contraption and repeatedly threw it around the arena, mostly against the plexiglass wall sections. However, Eruption's flipper blade - consisting of a 'hastily welded' piece of RAEX previously used in its fight against Apollo - got caught on the Flame Pit a few times, hampering its manoeuvrability and allowing Infernal Contraption to dent it before it became free. Eruption continued to throw Infernal Contraption around the arena a few more times, eventually immobilising it by knocking out its weapon and drive links. Winner: Eruption Eruption vs Shockwave Team Eruption and Team Shock agreed to battle each other, as both teams had become close friends through competing on the live circuit together. Eruption immediately got under Shockwave's scoop and landed a few flips, before Shockwave retaliated by charging Eruption into the arena wall. However, Shockwave's wheels were still having problems following damage sustained in its battle with Carbide, and following a few more flips from Eruption Shockwave lost a drive chain, leaving it with only three wheels still working. Despite this, Team Shock encouraged Team Eruption to keep attacking, with Eruption obliging and eventually throwing Shockwave out of the arena. Shockwave could not be repaired in time after this battle, and withdrew from the remainder of the whiteboard matches. It was replaced by Turbulence, and the battle with Eruption was its last in Robot Wars. Winner: Eruption Behemoth vs Gabriel For this battle, Gabriel was driven by Team Saint's youngest team member, Toby Colliass. During the battle, Behemoth launched Gabriel a considerable distance across the arena with a flip, and Gabriel eventually lost drive to one of its wheels after a rough landing. Despite this, Gabriel continued to attack Behemoth with its sword, and remained partially mobile for the rest of the battle. As the Judges were not in attendance, the victor was instead determined by an audience vote. The larger cheer was received by Gabriel, which was declared the winner. However, like Shockwave, Gabriel sustained too much damage to participate in the remaining whiteboard battles. Winner: Gabriel Behemoth vs Eruption Shunt was the House Robot for this battle, and uniquely, the arena spikes were controlled by an audience member in this battle. However, Eruption and Behemoth were both due to appear in a live event not long after filming, so both teams wished to avoid taking unnecessary damage, and kept clear of both hazards throughout the battle. Both robots spent the majority of the battle fighting near the Flame Pit, and flipped each other around several times. At one point, Eruption flipped Behemoth into a corner, breaking one of its self-righting arms and leaving it unable to self-right. However, Team Eruption wanted to continue fighting for the audience's entertainment, so flipped Behemoth back upright to resume the battle. Eruption and Behemoth kept fighting for the full three minutes, and performed a 'victory spin' in the centre of the arena after 'cease' was called. Both robots received a resounding cheer from the audience, but no winner was officially declared. Winner: None declared Infernal Contraption vs Turbulence Turbulence entered this battle as a substitute, replacing the irreparable Shockwave. However, it was quickly immobilised following continuous attacks from Infernal Contraption's drum, which caused its removable link to fall out. Infernal Contraption won the battle by knockout, and the whiteboard matches were concluded. Winner: Infernal Contraption Trivia *Gabriel vs Behemoth was the third example of an audience decision in Robot Wars, following on from Bunny Attack vs Hoot in Nickelodeon Robot Wars, and the Series 7 House Robot Rebellion. *An audience member controlled the arena spikes during the battle between Eruption and Behemoth. *Pilot competitor Turbulence was brought into the whiteboard matches as a reserve, after Shockwave withdrew due to sustaining too much damage in its earlier battles. **This was also where Turbulence gained its only loss in Robot Wars - it won the pilot episode without losing a single battle. *The whiteboard matches allowed Eruption to become the only competitor to flip a second robot out of the arena during Series 8. However, this flip was not televised. References Category:Episodes to contain an OotA Category:Series 8 Category:Lost Robot Wars media